Animal trainers by
profession, we have always had a soft spot for cats, and wished to breed
Norwegian Forest cats for our pleasure. Our goal in breeding Wegies is to
preserve and improve the qualities of the breed. We were absolutely seduced by
the wonderful temper and looks of the Norwegian forest cat.
We are so happy because now we breed
two or three litters by a year and
we
ensure the best care to our kittens (sanitary and social follow-up) and to our
other animals as well, so that none of them ever feels neglected.

We show our cats in
competitions to contribute to the development of the breed and make them known
to more people. Our cats get awards both in LOOF and FIFE shows, as they have
good results in both standards. We always try to be present when there’s a NFO
(Norwegian Forest Cat) specials where competition is more challenging due to the
important number of cats and breeders, which makes it all the more
interesting !

Our house is situated next
to the Orleans forest, in the countryside. We do not have any neighbours near,
and live in a quiet little village called Bougy-lez-Neuville. Our farm also
shelters all kinds of other animals who live together good-heartedly !

Our Breeding

Sunshine is
going out of her little wood home, but we take a look at her

The Skogkatt

It
seems that Norwegian Forest cats origins date back to the Vikings. They
accompanied the Vikings on their ships called drakkars to protect the cargo
from rodents during the long trips of the conquerors. In Norse mythology,
two large white cats with semi long hair pulled Freya’s chariot, the goddess
of Love and Fertility. Other XIXth century tales mention « fairy-cats »….
First a wild species that lived in the Norwegian forest, this breed has a
double coat with a woolly undercoat covered by long and water-repellent
hair. The Norwegian forest cat was then domesticated and paired with local
« house » cats.

The « skogkatt »
was then bred from the 1930’s by Scandinavian breeders and first appeared in
France in 1982. From then, this nicely shaped cat with wild looks and an
extraordinary temper – they get on so well with all the other inhabitants of
the house, animals and humans alike – has raised the interest of many
passionate breeders and the general audience is more and more seduced too…

The Norwegian’s
head is triangular, the profile should be as straight as possible, the
forehead is slightly rounded, the eyes are oblique, the ears are large,
triangular and sport lynx-like tufts, they have a strong chin, with a long
and full ruff especially in winter. The body is long, with the hind legs
higher than the front legs, a solid bone structure, a long and bushy tail
and a semi long fur. They have knickerbockers and longer hair between the
fingers too. Females are usually smaller and lighter than males. The
Norwegian comes in all colours except for lilac, chocolate, cinnamon and
fawn.

Three
Norwegian standards exist, that are applied in the corresponding shows: